#StudentsVote encourages Ontario students to pledge to vote in provincial election

#StudentsVote encourages Ontario students to pledge to vote in provincial election

March 1st, 2018

Toronto, ON - Yesterday, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance kicked off the #StudentsVote campaign, encouraging students to Pledge to Vote in the upcoming provincial election. The campaign engages students from London to Sudbury with the same message - it’s important to cast a ballot in June.

#StudentsVote challenges the narrative that students are apathetic. At post-secondary institutions across the province, student leaders are informing students about their rights as a voter, and how, when, and where they will be able to cast their ballot.

"We've talked to lots of Students who are enthusiastic about voting,” said Andrew Clubine, OUSA President and student at the University of Waterloo. “There are lots off issues important to students that will be front and centre this election including cost of education, affordable housing, and free textbooks. We need to make sure our voices are heard.”

#StudentsVote also draws attention to some of the issues that students in Ontario are voting for. Students care about mental health, experiential learning, free textbooks, and the cost of their education.

“Students are affected by every aspect of politics, and we realize that,” said Ryan Deshpande, OUSA Director and student at McMaster University. “The perception that students and young people in general are apathetic is slowly being dismantled, because we continue to prove that we care about our education and our future. Pledging to vote helps facilitate that!”

In addition to on-campus campaign booths and our #StudentsVote social media campaign, OUSA launched a campaign website to simplify the voting process for students. The website includes important information including information on voting accessibility, advanced polling, and voting qualifications.

OUSA represents the interests of 150,000 professional and undergraduate, full-time and part-time university students at eight student associations a cross Ontario. Our vision is for an accessible, affordable, accountable, and high quality post-secondary education in Ontario. To achieve this vision we’ve come together to develop solutions to challenges facing higher education, build broad consensus for our policy options, and lobby government to implement them.